Push Your Luck (Blades and Blood #2)

Chapter 1

“You have to keep practicing with your left hand as soon as you’re cleared for physical activity. Otherwise, anyone who looks at you will notice your weakness immediately, and you’ll be toast.”

“I know, I—”

“The sniper rifle won’t learn to shoot itself. Now that the season’s over, I expect you at the range seven days a week. Sorry, Ellie. He has to get better. Maybe you can float in the pool while he trains?”

My future sister-in-law perks up from where she’s sprawled on the couch. “That sounds amazing. I want to cook for all the guys, too. I’ll finally get a chance to hone my barbecue skills.”

“Your agility needs work. You won’t have Misha, but Rusev will be here.”

“Yes, he and I have plans to—”

“The council might give you some pushback on some of your planned changes, but honestly, they’re probably so happy to have a penis in charge again that they might go easy on you.”

“I’ve met with them already, and we—”

“Don’t forget about the meeting with the lawyers either. Now that you’re getting married and expecting, you have to update a lot of that shit.”

My brother finally loses his patience with my reminders and takes off his glasses, covering his face with his hands.

“I promise, Mila. You’ve taught me well, and so has Misha.

Like you said, I have Rusev and all the other guys staying with me, and you’re only a text away.

Sasha sent me a fucking shared note on my phone, for crying out loud.

He’s already got like twenty checklist items on there for me to complete! I can do this.”

Sighing, I glance at the woman who’s actually in charge of Teddy’s schedule.

Ellie’s a born-and-raised Mafia princess, just like I am.

Although she hasn’t been trained with the same expectations as I was, she’s shrewd and knows the business inside and out.

We aren’t merging our Thunder Bay operations with the Santori family, per se, but business will boom for both of us now that we’re bound by the blood of the baby she carries.

“I got this,” she mouths in answer to my raised eyebrows, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Before I can add on to my to-do list for my brother, the alarm on Misha’s phone blares that it’s time to leave for the airport.

Once he says his goodbyes and grabs the last of our bags, I’m left alone with Ellie and Teddy.

When we met, damn, only six months ago? It feels like a lifetime…

When we met, I resented him for existing.

The one thing he has no control over. I wanted to hate him for inheriting the Bratva that I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into for almost every one of my thirty-nine years on earth.

He didn’t even want this, and he got it for no damn reason except the thing dangling between his legs.

That was then, though. The man who showed up was smart, funny, and just a decent fucking human.

It was impossible to hate him, even if he put us all through hell by entangling himself with the only daughter of one of our rival families.

That worked out for the best, though, so maybe he’s a good-luck charm.

I hope the Thunder Bay branch of the Taranov Bratva thrives under Teddy and Ellie’s leadership.

My niece or nephew deserves to inherit a first-rate legacy, not some low-budget operation.

Teddy gets up first, awkwardly approaching me as if he’s considering moving in for a hug. Instead, he runs his hand through his hair, then offers it for a handshake. “We’re going to miss seeing you. I’m sure I’ll be bugging you with texts and calls before you’ve even landed in New York.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll miss you too. I’ve gotten used to kicking your ass in the training gym. Without you around, I’ll have to go back to showing Misha who’s boss.”

My best friend and right-hand man doesn’t come back inside, but he does flash me a one-fingered salute from where he’s leaning in the doorway.

“Look, I know Misha’s going with you, and you’ll have a ton of people around you at the compound, but if you ever need anyone, my grandma said to remind you that you can always video call her. I know she’s traveling for most of the summer, but she’d love to hear from you.”

“I appreciate that. Maybe we can have virtual lunch one day. I need to know more about your awkward tween phase where you were obsessed with that one television show. What did she say it was?”

“Ugh, no.”

“Gargoyles! He had a crush on the hot, animated gargoyle,” Misha calls from the hall, chuckling before reminding me we’re on a schedule. “We gotta go, moya tsaritsa.”

Ellie stands up for a hug before I give Teddy one last fist bump on my way out. Just before we reach the elevator, he manages to get on my nerves one last time.

“Hey, Sis—”

“You know I hate when you call me—”

“You know who’s already asking me about when you’re moving?”

“I swear to God, Teddy—”

“Your number one fan, Thatcher Prescott!”

“Remind me why we aren’t having any fun in the city tonight before we have to start work tomorrow?

” Misha stuffs his face with the last of his trail mix before moving on to gummy candy.

He’s always said the altitude makes him extra hungry, so we have to plan accordingly.

We ran out of snacks on a business trip once, and I’ve never been around anyone so unpleasant.

“Well, for starters, the compound has a hangar and a runway. No need for an airport.”

“Fanshmy,” he says around a mouthful of candy.

“Yes, very fancy. There’s also the fact that Ivan has graciously agreed to leave his home and loving family to show us the property and formally introduce us to the leadership team.

It would be poor form to refuse just to get hammered in the city the night before.

We’ll have plenty of time for that after we settle in. ”

Settle in. When my world crashed down around me six months ago, and Teddy arrived to reluctantly abscond with my birthright, it seemed my training to run a Bratva branch would go to waste.

Then when my cousin Ivan decided he wanted to step back, along with his heir, Sasha, he asked if I’d be interested in moving to New York and taking over his operation.

Sasha helped show Teddy the ropes in Thunder Bay, Ivan helped with the legal aspect and assured me there was no male-only clause in their branch’s bylaws, and the rest moved quickly.

Technically, this is an upward move. A promotion, if I had a normal career.

It’s a bigger area to operate, a larger property, and a much more lucrative investment portfolio.

I waited for melancholy to hit when I finalized my move away from the home I’ve known for the past fifteen years, but… nothing.

It’s a job. Something to fill my life until I die.

Luckily, in that regard, it’s a pretty damn all-encompassing job.

No time to be sad, or anxious, or any of that shit.

And no time to wallow in thoughts and memories, which is for the best. I work or work out eighteen hours a day, with every moment accounted for, and that’s the way I like it.

If anything, I should be able to enjoy the weather in New York more than in Florida.

I’m not built for the heat, and I stood out like a sore thumb everywhere we went.

Jet-black hair, pale skin, broad shoulders, and my favored all-black outfits…

not to mention a lot of men in Florida are short.

Nothing says “want to be fuck buddies” like a guy looking up at your double chin from a few inches below.

No, my six-foot-tall pale ass is meant to be hauling lumber in a Siberian winter.

But I’m not going back there. Never.

So New York it is. This should be a relatively quick takeover, including a meet and greet, and then we can get to work. I have Misha to help smooth over any initial bumps in the road, and we’ll do what we’ve always done. Survive and thrive.